Robot

ABSTRACT

A robot for performing an expression by a non-verbal reaction, includes a body including a lower part provided so as to be capable of panning and tilting with respect to a support point coupled to a placement surface; a pair of arms provided to side parts of the body so as to be capable of moving up and down; and a head provided to an upper part of the body so as to be capable of panning and tilting, wherein the non-verbal reaction includes a combination of the tilting and the panning of the body with respect to the support point and movement of the pair of arms or the head or any combination thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of InternationalApplication PCT/JP2016/063438 filed on Apr. 28, 2016 and designated theU.S., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a robot.

BACKGROUND

Robots include an installation type robot and a humanoid robot. Sota(registered trademark in Japan) manufactured by Vstone Co., Ltd. is anexample of the installation type robot. In addition, Pepper (registeredtrademark in Japan) manufactured by SoftBank Robotics Corp. is anexample of the humanoid robot.

The installation type robot performs simple operations such asindicating, a direction by holding out a hand, for example, in responseto a question from a user. A degree of freedom of operation of theinstallation type robot is relatively low, and is close to a gesturesynchronized with audio output. The installation type robot has a simpleconfiguration, and can therefore be reduced in size and cost. However,it is difficult for the installation type robot to perform an expressionsuch as an emotional expression or the like by a gesture at a time ofinteraction with the user.

On the other hand, the humanoid robot has joints substantially similarto those of a human, and can therefore indicate a direction by an arm, ahand, or a finger, or incline a head. A degree of freedom of operationof the humanoid robot is relatively high, so that an expression such asan emotional expression or the like can be performed by a gesture.However, in order for the humanoid robot to bow, for example, manyjoints of arms, feet, shoulders, a waist, a neck, and the like need tobe controlled appropriately. Therefore, in addition to a complexconfiguration of the joints and the like, complex control of the jointsand the like is required of the humanoid robot. In addition, because ofthe complex configuration of the joints and the like, it is difficult toreduce size and cost of the humanoid robot.

Hence, it becomes difficult to perform an expression such as anemotional expression or the like by a gesture when the degree of freedomof operation is reduced as in the installation type robot, and itbecomes difficult to reduce the size and cost of the robot when enablingan expression such as an emotional expression or the like by a gestureby increasing the degree of freedom of operation as in the humanoidrobot. In such a trade-off relation depending on an increase or adecrease in the degree of freedom of operation of the robot, there is adesire to perform expressions such as many emotional expressions and thelike by gestures with a low degree of freedom of operation.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the embodiments, a robot for performing anexpression by a non-verbal reaction, includes a body including a lowerpart provided so as to be capable of panning and tilting with respect toa support point coupled to a placement surface; a pair of arms providedto side parts of the body so as to be capable of moving up and down; anda head provided to an upper part of the body so as to be capable ofpanning and tilting, wherein the non-verbal reaction includes acombination of the tilting of the body with respect to the support pointand movement of the pair of arms or the head or any combination thereof.

The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attainedby means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out inthe claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and arenot restrictive of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a system in one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a driving unit;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a robot;

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating a first example of afunctional configuration of the robot;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an inclination settingtable;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an expression ordertable;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining an example ofoperation of the robot;

FIGS. 8A to 8C are flowcharts of assistance in explaining an example ofoperation of the robot;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interaction stateestimation table;

FIG. 10 is diagram illustrating an example of an active operation table;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a passive operationtable;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining an example ofoperation of the robot;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of n LED expression table;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sound expressiontable;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining an example ofoperation of the robot in one embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating an example of bowing of therobot;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating an example of surprise of therobot;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating an example of discouragementof the robot; and

FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram illustrating a second example ofthe functional configuration of the robot.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

With the conventional robot, it is difficult to perform many kinds ofexpressions by gestures with a low degree of freedom of operation.

A disclosed robot performs an expression such as an emotional expressionor the like by a non-verbal reaction including a gesture. The robotincludes: a body including a lower part provided so as to be capable ofpanning and tilting with respect to a support point coupled to aplacement surface; a pair of arms provided to side parts of the body soas to be capable of moving up and down; and a head provided to an upperpart of the body so as to be capable of panning and tilting. Thenon-verbal reaction is a combination of tilting of the body with respectto the support point and movement of at least one of the pair of arms orthe head or any combination thereof.

Each embodiment of the disclosed robot will be described in thefollowing together with the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a system in one embodiment. A system 1 illustrated inFIG. 1 includes a robot 2-1, a sensor beacon 3, and a gateway (GW:Gate-Way) 4. The system 1 is, for example, applied to an exhibitionsite. Therefore, the robot 2-1 and the GW 4 are arranged within theexhibition site, and may be arranged in a same position. The robot 2-1is disposed within one exhibition booth, for example, within theexhibition site. The sensor beacon 3 is carried by a visitor who toursthe exhibition site. The sensor beacon 3 may be housed in a neck hangingcard holder that the visitor can hang from the neck of the visitor, forexample. The visitor is an example of a user provided with service.

The robot 2-1 includes a detecting unit 21, a control unit 22, anexpressing unit 23, an expression accumulating unit 24, and a beaconcommunicating unit 25. The beacon communicating unit 25 may include atransceiver. The detecting unit 21 includes a back contact sensor 211, ahead contact sensor 212, a microphone 213, a human sensing sensor 214, acamera 215, a tablet 216, a distance measuring sensor 217, and atemperature sensor 218. The control unit 22 includes a CPU 221, a memory222, and an analog-to-digital, converter (ADC: Analog-to-DigitalConverter) 223. The expressing unit 23 includes a driving unit 231, aspeaker 232, and a light emitting diode (LED: Light Emitting Diode) 233as an example of a light source. The expression accumulating unit 24accumulates driving patterns of the body, arm, and head of the robot 2-1for making expressions determined according to detection informationdetected by the detecting unit 21. In the present example, theexpression accumulating unit 24 has an interaction state estimationtable 241, a guidance action (hereinafter referred to also as“behavior”) table 242, and a psychological behavior table 243. Theinformation detected by the detecting unit 21 and a beacon ID receivedby the beacon communicating unit 25 from the sensor beacon 3 are storedinto the memory 222 via the ADC 223 within the control unit 22. The CPU221 within the control unit 22 reads an interaction state, guidancebehavior, and psychological behavior from the interaction stateestimation table 241, the guidance behavior table 242, and thepsychological behavior table 243 within the expression accumulating unit24. In addition, the CPU 221 within the control unit 22 drives thedriving unit 231, the speaker 232, and the LED 233 within the expressingunit 23.

The sensor beacon 3 is an example of an active tag. The sensor beacon 3includes a memory 31 and a transmitter 32. The transmitter 32 performscommunication with the GW 4 compliant with BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy,registered trademark in Japan), for example. The memory 31 stores abeacon ID as an example of identification information for identifyingeach sensor beacon 3.

The GW 4 is an example of a communication control device that receivesthe beacon ID transmitted by the sensor beacon 3 and can communicatewith the robot 2-1. The GW 4 includes a receiver 41, a personalinformation database (DB: Data-Base) 42, a memory 43, a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit) 44, and a robot communicating unit 45. The CPU 44 is anexample of a processor that controls operation of the whole of the GW 4.The receiver 41 receives the beacon ID transmitted from the sensorbeacon 3 under control of the CPU 44, and detects a reception radiofield intensity (that is, a signal reception strength) and the like. Therobot communicating unit 45 performs communication compliant withWebSocket (HTTP, registered trademark in Japan), for example, with therobot 2-1 under control of the CPU 44. The memory 43 may store a programexecuted by the CPU 44 or the like. In the present example, each sensorbeacon 3 has the name of the visitor registered therein at a time ofregistration of the visitor at a reception desk of the exhibition site,for example. Therefore, in the DB 42, a user ID for identifying thevisitor is registered in association with the beacon ID of thecorresponding sensor beacon 3 together with the name of the visitor. Theuser ID is an example of identification information for identifying eachuser. The CPU 44 can also control operation of the robot 2-1 based onthe beacon ID from the sensor beacon 3,

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the driving unit.As illustrated in FIG. 2, under control of the control unit 22 (that is,the CPU 221), the driving unit 231 drives an arm operation motor 231-1that moves up and down the left and right arms of the robot 2-1, a neckoperation motor 231-2 that pans and tilts the neck of the robot 2-1, anda torso operation motor 231-3 that pans and tilts the body of the robot2-1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the robot. Therobot 2-1 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes: a body 201 provided so as tobe capable of panning and tilting with respect to a support point 205Bon a placement surface 205A of a base 205; a pair of left and right arms202L and 202R provided to side parts of the body 201 so as to be capableof moving up and down; and a head 203 provided to an upper part of thebody 201 so as to be capable of panning and tilting. A front, portion ofthe head 203 is provided with the LED 233 of the expressing unit 23. Inthe present example, when the LED 233 is driven and turned on, lightemitted from the LED 233 passes through the front portion of the head203. The user therefore sees full-color transmitted light. The body 201is driven by the torso operation motor 231-3 so as to be capable ofpanning in a direction indicated by an arrow Bp, and capable of tiltingin a direction indicated by an arrow Bt. The left arm 202L is driven bythe arm operation motor 231-1 so as to be capable of moving up and downin a direction indicated by an arrow Alv. The right arm 202R is drivenby the arm operation motor 231-1 so as to be capable of moving up anddown in a direction indicated by an arrow Arv. The head 203 is driven bythe neck operation motor 231-2 so as to be capable of panning in adirection indicated by an arrow Hp, and capable of tilting in adirection indicated by an arrow Ht. The shape of the base 205 is notparticularly limited, but may be a box shape, for example. In addition,the base 205 may form a part of the robot 2-1.

By driving the torso operation motor 231-3, the driving unit 231 can panthe body 201 in the direction indicated by the arrow Bp by a twist angleof ±90 degrees, for example, and can tilt the body 201 in the directionindicated by the arrow Bt by an inclination angle of ±15 degrees, forexample. In addition, by driving the arm operation motor 231-1, thedriving unit 231 can move up and down the arms 202L and 202R separatelyfrom each other in the direction indicated by the arrow Arv by aswing-up angle of ±90 degrees, for example. Further, by driving the neckoperation motor 231-2, the driving unit 231 can pan the head 203 in thedirection indicated by the arrow Hp by a neck swing angle of ±150degrees, for example, and can tilt the head 203 in the directionindicated by the arrow Ht by a nod angle of ±30 degrees, for example.Thus, the degree of freedom of the body 201 is two, the degree offreedom of each of the arms 202L and 202R is one, and the degree offreedom of the head 203 is two. The degree of freedom of the whole ofthe robot 2-1 therefore totals six.

Incidentally, the body 201 or the like can be miniaturized by arrangingthe torso operation motor 231-3 or an actuator, a gravity canceler, orthe like of the robot 2-1 within the base 205. In addition, at least thecontrol unit 22 can be disposed within the base 205.

The back contact sensor 211 is disposed in a back part of the body 201of the robot 2-1. The head contact sensor 212 is disposed in the head203 of the robot 2-1. The microphone 213, the human sensing sensor 214,the camera 215, the tablet 216, the distance measuring sensor 217, andthe temperature sensor 218 may each be disposed on the robot 2-1 side,or may be disposed on the base 205 side. As an example, the camera 215may be disposed in a central part of the head 203 of the robot 2-1, andtrack the face of the user. In addition, the microphone 213, the humansensing sensor 214, the tablet 216, the distance measuring sensor 217,and the temperature sensor 218 may be arranged in the base 205. Thehuman sensing sensor 214 may be disposed at four positions of the base205, for example, so as to be capable of sensing a human along fourdirections of the front, rear, left, and right of the robot 2-3, forexample. Incidentally, when the robot 2-1 and the GW 4 are coupled toeach other by a cable, the cable may, for example, be drawn out from theback surface of the base 205 or the like.

A lower part of the body 201 of the robot 2-1 is supported by thesupport point 205B on the placement surface 205A, and is capable ofpanning in the direction indicated by the arrow Bp and capable oftilting in the direction indicated by the arrow Bt. The tilting of thebody 201 enables the robot 2-1 to perform overaction. That is, anexpression such as an emotional expression or the like can be performedby a non-verbal reaction including a gesture by using a combination ofthe tilting of the body 201 with respect to the support point 205B andmovement of at least one of the pair of arms 202L and 202R and the head203. In addition, the non-verbal reaction may be a further combinationwith at least one of audio output from the speaker 232 and turning on oroff of the LED 233.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating a first example of afunctional configuration of the robot. The robot 2-1 illustrated in FIG.4 includes a human and environment detecting unit 51, an expressiondetermining unit 52-1, and an expression performing unit 53. The humanand environment detecting unit 51 has a face tracking function 511, apersonal information detecting function 512, a contact detectingfunction 513, a user intention detecting function 514, a user presencedetecting function 515, a distance detecting function 516, and anenvironment detecting function 517.

The face tracking function 511 is a function of the CPU 221 whichfunction tracks the face of a user photographed by the camera 215. Thepersonal information detecting function 512 is a function of the CPU 221which function detects personal information of the user from voice inputof the user which voice input is detected by the microphone 213 ormanual input of the user which manual input is detected by the tablet216. In a case where the beacon communicating unit 25 receives thecontents of the personal information DB 42 of the GW 4 receiving thebeacon ID transmitted from the sensor beacon 3, and stores the contentsin the memory 222, the personal information detecting function 512 candetect the personal information of the user by referring to the personalinformation within the memory 222 according to the voice input or manualinput of the user. The contact detecting function 513 is a function ofthe CPU 221 which function detects contact (that is, a touch) of theuser with the robot 2-1 when at least one of the back contact sensor211, the head contact sensor 212, and the tablet 216 detects the contact(that is, the touch) by the user. The user intention detecting function514 is a function of the CPU 221 which function detects an intention (ora user distance) of the user from the voice input of the user whichvoice input is detected by the microphone 213 or the manual input of theuser which manual input is detected by the tablet 216. The userintention detecting function 514 may include a well-known voicerecognition function that recognizes the speech content of the voiceinput. On the other hand, the intention of the user may be directlyinput to the robot 2-1 by the manual input. The user presence detectingfunction 515 is a function of the CPU 221 which function detects thepresence of the user when the human sensing sensor 214 detects the userapproaching the robot 2-1. The distance detecting function 516 is afunction of the CPU 221 which function detects a distance to the userapproaching the robot 2-1 when the distance measuring sensor 217measures the distance. The environment detecting function 517 is afunction of the CPU 221 which function detects the temperature of anenvironment in which the robot 2-1 is installed when the temperaturesensor 218 detects the temperature.

The expression determining unit 52-1 has an interaction state estimatingfunction 521-1, an, expression accumulating function 522-1, and anexpression selecting function 523-1. The expression selecting function523-1 includes an enhancement level adjusting function 524-1 and anexpression order determining function 525-1. The expression accumulatingfunction 522-1 is a function of the CPU 221 which function accumulates aplurality of kinds of expression contents expressed by the robot 2-1,and includes expressions such as emotional expressions and the like bynon-verbal reactions including gestures. The expression accumulatingfunction 522-1 may include, for example, a basic behavior table, aguidance behavior table 242 specialized in guidance service, and thelike. The interaction state estimating function 521-1 is a function ofthe CPU 221 which function estimates an interaction state between therobot 2-1 and the user by using the interaction state estimation table241 to be described later, for example, and determines expressioncontents according to information detected by the human and environmentdetecting unit 51. The expression selecting function 523-1 is a functionof the CPU 221 which function determines rough expression contents ofthe robot 2-1, including inclination angles of the robot 2-1, from theplurality of kinds of expression contents accumulated by the expressionaccumulating function 522-1, by referring to an active operation table244 and a passive operation table 245 to be described later based on theinteraction state estimated by the interaction state estimating function521-1.

The enhancement level adjusting function 524-1 is a function of the CPU221 which function adjusts an enhancement level that enhances theexpression contents determined by the expression selecting function523-1. For example, in a case where the expression contents are a bow,the body 201 is adjusted to an inclination corresponding to the personalinformation detected by the personal information detecting function 512by referring to an inclination setting table 246 illustrated in FIG. 5,for example, based on the personal information. FIG. 5 is a diagramillustrating an example of the inclination setting table. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 5, the inclination is adjusted to “large” when theuser information is VIP, the inclination is adjusted to “medium” whenthe user information is general, and the inclination is adjusted to“small” when the user information is employee. The expression orderdetermining function 525-1 is a function of the CPU 221 which functiondetermines order in which to perform the expression contents determinedby the expression selecting function 523-1. For example, in a case wherethe expression contents are a bow, whether to incline the body 201 afterbowing the head 203 or whether to bow the head 203 after inclining thebody 201, for example, is determined by referring to an expression ordertable 247 illustrated in FIG. 6, for example, based on the user distancedetected by the user intention detecting function 514. FIG. 6 is adiagram illustrating an example of the expression order table. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 6, the expression order is determined suchthat “the inclination of the body is first and the inclination of thehead is later” when the user distance indicates a case where the userapproaches (attention is directed to a vicinity), such that “theinclination of the body and the inclination of the head aresimultaneous” when the user distance indicates a case where the usergoes away from the robot 2-1 (attention is directed to a distantposition), and such that the inclination of the body is later and theinclination of the head is first when the user distance indicates a casewhere the user thanks the robot 2-1 (desires to give greetings).

The inclination setting able 246 and the expression order table 247 maybe arranged within the expression accumulating unit 24, for example.

The expression performing unit 53 includes a driving function 531, alight expressing function 533, and an audio output function 534. Thedriving function 531 includes an inclination driving function 532. Thedriving function 531 is a function of the CPU 221 which functionperforms expression by controlling operation of the robot 24 whiledriving the arm operation motor 231-1, the neck operation motor 231-2,and the torso operation motor 231-3 by the driving unit 231. Theinclination driving function 532 of the driving function 531 controlsthe inclination of the body 201 and the inclination of the head 203. Thelight expressing function 533 is a function of the CPU 221 whichfunction performs expression by the presence or absence of lightemission and light emission color by controlling the turning on or offof the LED 233. The audio output, function 534 is a function of the CPU221 which function performs expression by audio output by controllingthe audio output from the speaker 232. The expression using the LED 233by the light expressing function 533 and the expression using the audiooutput from the speaker 232 by the audio output function 534 areinterlocked with expression using movement of the body 201, the arms202L and 202R, and the head 203 by the inclination driving function 532.

FIG. 7, FIGS. 8A to 8C, and FIG. 12 are flowcharts of assistance inexplaining an example of operation of the robot. In FIG. 7, theprocessing of steps S1 to S8 and S11 to S14 can be performed by the CPU221 of the robot 2-1. In step S1 illustrated in FIG. 7, the CPU 221obtains environment data on an environment in which the robot 2-1 isinstalled. As an example, environment settings ST1 may be defined or setin advance. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the environmentsettings ST1 include a global variable definition S111, a detectingfunction variable definition S112, a sound definition S113 of a vicinityindication target, a sound definition S114 of a distant positionindication target, and a guidance service setting (Guide=0 or 1) S115.

In step S2, the CPU 221 initializes a global variable. In step S3, theCPU 221 initializes a detection variable. In step S4, the CPU 221 turnsa timer flag on (ON). In step S5, the CPU 221 resets an interruptsetting to F=0. Here, F denotes an execution flag set to F=1 when thehuman sensing sensor 214 (or the user presence detecting function 515)detects a user in the vicinity of the robot 2-1. In step S6, the CPU 221determines whether or not F=1. When a result of the determination isYES, the processing proceeds to step S7. When the result of thedetermination is NO, the processing proceeds to step S8. In step S7, theCPU 221 performs a user task. The processing proceeds to step S8 on onehand, and proceeds to step S21 illustrated in FIG. 8A on the other hand.In step S8, the CPU 221 turns the timer flag off (OFF). The processingthen returns to step S5.

Timer processing includes steps S11 to S14. In step S11, the CPU 221turns the timer flag ON. In step S12, the CPU 221 detects the presenceof a user in the vicinity of the robot 2-1. In step S13, the CPU 221sets the execution flag F to F=1. In step S14, the CPU 221 turns thetimer flag OFF. The processing then proceeds to step S6.

In FIGS. 8A to 8C, the processing of steps S21 to S43 can be performedby the CPU 221 of the robot 2-1. In step S21 illustrated in FIG. 8A, theCPU 221 starts performing the user task. In step S22, the CPU 221initializes the ADC 223. In step S23, the CPU 221 obtains detectioninformation of the sensors 211 to 218 of the detecting unit 21. In stepS24, the CPU 221 obtains state estimation data indicating a kind ofexpression to be output, by referring to the interaction stateestimation table 241 with the detection information of the sensors 211to 218 as input. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of theinteraction state estimation table. In FIG. 9, circle symbols representitems of corresponding expressions, and scenes represent an example ofinteraction states between the robot 2-1 and the user. In step S25, theCPU 221 determines whether or not Guide=1. When a result of thedetermination is YES, the processing proceeds to step S26. When theresult of the determination is NO, the processing proceeds to step S27.

In step S26, the CPU 221 obtains guidance behavior data indicate a kindof expression in a guidance scene by referring to the guidance behaviortable 242 with the detection information of the sensors 211 to 218 asinput. In the present example, the guidance, behavior table 242 isincluded in the interaction state estimation table 241 illustrated inFIG. 9. In step S27, the CPU 221 compares the state estimation data withthe guidance behavior data. In step S28, the CPU 221 determines by thecomparison whether or not a kind of expression is determined. When aresult of the determination in step S28 is NO, the processing returns tostep S24. When the result of the determination is YES, the processingproceeds to step S29.

In step S29, the CPU 221 determines whether or not the determined kindof expression is an active expression. When a result of thedetermination is YES, the processing proceeds to step S30. When theresult of the determination is NO, the processing proceeds to step S37to be described later. In step S30, the CPU 221 obtains action dataindicating an active operation by referring to the active operationtable 244 illustrated in FIG. 10 with the detection information of thesensors 211 to 218 as input. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating anexample of the active operation table, FIG. 10 illustrates an example inwhich active operations such as a head tilt, a head pan, the right arm,the left arm, a torso tilt, a torso pan, and the like express vicinityindication, distant position indication, bowing, thinking or hesitation,assertion, changing an attitude according to a person, (making) a quip,cheering, and the like.

In step S33, the CPU 221 determines whether or not ID_flag=1. When aresult of the determination is YES, the processing proceeds to step S34.When the result of the determination is NO, the processing proceeds tostep S31. In step S31, the CPU 221 obtains a user ID detected by themicrophone 213 or the tablet 216 (or the personal information detectingfunction 512). In step S32, the CPU 221 sets ID_flag=1. The processingthen proceeds to step S33.

In step S34, the CPU 221 obtains personal information data by referringto a personal information DB 248 with the user ID as input. The personalinformation DB 248 may, for example, be provided within the memory 222or may be provided within the expression accumulating unit 24.

In step S35, the CPU 221 refers to the inclination setting table 246illustrated in FIG. 5 with the personal information data indicating userinformation as input, and thereby obtains enhancement level dataindicating an enhancement level of an inclination in accordance with theuser information. In step S36, the CPU 221 determines whether or not theenhancement level of the inclination is determined. When a result of thedetermination is NO, the processing returns to step S34. When the resultof the determination is YES, the processing proceeds to step S41.

In step S37, on the other hand, the CPU 221 determines whether or notthe determined kind of expression is a passive expression. When a resultof the determination is YES, the processing proceeds to step S38. Whenthe result of the determination is NO, the processing returns to stepS24 to be described later. In step S38, the CPU 221 obtains action dataindicating a passive operation, by referring to a passive operationtable 245 illustrated in FIG. 11 with the detection information of thesensors 211 to 218 as input. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating anexample of the passive operation table. FIG. 11 illustrates an examplein which passive operations such as a head tilt, a head pan, the rightarm, the left arm, a torso tilt, a torso pan, and the like expresssurprise, joy, discouragement, embarrassment, question, anger, boredom,and the like. After step S38, the processing proceeds to step S33.

In step S39, on the other hand, the CPU 221 obtains a distance detectedby the distance measuring sensor 217 (or the distance detecting function516). In step S40, the CPU 221 resets the distance X to X=0. Theprocessing then proceeds to step S41. In step S41, the CPU 221determines whether or not X>1000. When a result of the determination isNO, the processing returns to step S39. When the result of thedetermination is YES, the processing proceeds to step S42.

In step S42, the CPU 221 obtains expression order data indicating orderof expression of each part of the robot 2-1 by referring to theexpression order table 247 illustrated in FIG. 6 with the user distanceas input. In step S43, the CPU 221 determines whether or not theexpression order data is determined. When a result of the determinationis NO, the processing returns to step S42. When the result of thedetermination is YES, the processing, proceeds to the processing of FIG.12.

In FIG. 12, the processing of steps S51 to S56 can be performed by theCPU 221 of the robot 2-1. The processing of steps S51, S52, and S54 canbe performed in parallel with each other. In step S51, the CPU 221instructs the driving unit 231 (or the driving function 531) to controlthe motors 231-1, 231-2, and 231-3. The processing then proceeds to stepS56. In step S52, the CPU 221 obtains an LED expression pattern of theLED 233 of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) controlled to be on or offaccording to an expression of surprise, joy, discouragement, or the likeby referring to an LED expression table 601 illustrated in FIG. 13. FIG.13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the LED expression table.FIG. 13 illustrates an example in which the output of the LED 233 of red(R), green (G), and blue (B) expresses surprise, joy, anddiscouragement. In FIG. 13, double circle symbols denote items ofcorresponding expressions. In step S53, the CPU 221 gives an instructionto control the LED 233 according to the obtained LED expression patterndata. The processing then proceeds to step S56.

In step S54, the CPU 221 obtains audio data to be output from thespeaker 232 according to an expression such as surprise, joy,discouragement, or the like by referring to a sound expression table 602illustrated in FIG. 14. In the present example, the audio data is, forexample, buzzer sound or the like. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating anexample of the sound expression table. FIG. 14 illustrates an example inwhich audio output of high-pitched sound, middle-pitched sound, andlow-pitched sound from the speaker 232 expresses surprise, joy, anddiscouragement. In FIG. 14, double circle symbols denote items ofcorresponding expressions. In step S55, the CPU 221 gives an instructionfor control that outputs the obtained audio data to the speaker 232. Theprocessing then proceeds to step S56.

In step S56, the CPU 221 performs a task based on the controlinstructions for the driving unit 231, the LED 233, and the speaker 232.The processing then returns to step S1 illustrated in FIG. 7. Theprocessing of steps S51, S52, and S54 can be performed in parallel witheach other. Therefore, expression using the LED 233 and expression usingthe audio output from the speaker 232 are interlocked with expressionusing movement of the body 201, the arms 202L and 202R, and the head203.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining an example ofoperation of the robot in one embodiment. The processing of steps S101to S107 illustrated in FIG. 15 can be performed by the CPU 221 of therobot 2-1, for example. FIG. 15 illustrates the processing of the CPU221 which processing corresponds to the functions illustrated in FIG. 4.

In step S101 in FIG. 15, the CPU 221 obtains contact informationindicating contact between the user and the robot 2-1 and an intentionof the user by the human and environment detecting unit 51.Specifically, when at least one of the back contact sensor 211, the headcontact sensor 212, and the tablet 216 detects contact (that is, atouch) by the user, the contact detecting function 513 detects thecontact (that is, the touch) of the user with the robot 2-1, and obtainscontact information indicating the contact. In addition, when the userintention detecting function 514 detects the voice input of the userwhich voice input is detected by the microphone 213 or the manual inputof the user which manual input is detected by the tablet 216, the userintention detecting function 514 obtains an intention (or a userdistance) of the user.

In step S102, the CPU 221 estimates an interaction state according tothe obtained contact information and the obtained intention of the userby the interaction state estimating function 521-1 of the expressiondetermining unit 52-1, and estimates which expression is to be performedby the robot 2-1 by using the interaction state estimation table 241.

In step S103, the CPU 221 refers to a plurality of kinds of expressioncontents expressed by the robot 2-1, the plurality of kinds ofexpression contents being accumulated in the guidance behavior table 242and the like by the expression accumulating function 522-1. In addition,in step S103, the CPU 221 determines, by the expression selectingfunction 523-1, rough expression contents of the robot 2-1 such, asdistant position indication, vicinity indication, or the like, includinginclination angles of the robot 2-1, by referring to the activeoperation table 244 and the passive operation table 245 based on theinteraction state estimated by the interaction state estimating function521-1.

In step S104, the CPU 221 adjusts, by the enhancement level adjustingfunction 524-1 of the expression selecting function 523-1 an enhancementlevel that enhances the expression contents determined by the expressionselecting function 523-1. For example, in a case where the expressioncontents are a bow, the body 201 is adjusted to an inclinationcorresponding to personal information detected by the personalinformation detecting function 512 by referring to the inclinationsetting table 246 based on the personal information.

In step S105, the CPU 221 determines, by the expression orderdetermining function 525-1, order in which to perform the expressioncontents determined by the expression selecting function 523-1. Forexample, in a case where the expression contents are a bow, whether toincline the body 201 after bowing the head 203 or whether to bow thehead 203 after inclining the body 201, for example, is determined byreferring to the expression order table 247 based on the user distancedetected by the user intention detecting function 514.

In step S106, the CPU 221 controls, by the inclination driving function532 within the driving function 531 of the expression performing unit53, the inclination of the body 201 and the inclination of the head 203according to the determined order of the expression contents.

In step S107, the CPU 221 performs expression using the LED 233 by thelight expressing function 533 and expression using audio output from thespeaker 232 by the audio output function 534 so as to be interlockedwith expression using movement of the body 201, the arms 202L and 202R,and the head 203 by the inclination driving function 532. The processingis then ended.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18, description will be made of anexample in which an expression such as an emotional expression or thelike is performed by a non-verbal reaction including a gesture. When anexpression such as an emotional expression or the like is performed by anon-verbal reaction including a gesture, audio output of buzzer sound orthe like may be performed. However, in the present example, for theconvenience of description, suppose that an expression such as anemotional expression or the like by language is not performed. Inaddition, when an expression such as an emotional expression or the likeis performed by a non-verbal reaction including a gesture, lightexpression by the presence or absence of light emission and lightemission color may be performed. At least one of expression such as anemotional expression or the like by audio output and expression such asan emotional expression or the like by light expression may beinterlocked with a non-verbal reaction including a gesture.

Incidentally, the robot may function as a communication robot. In thecase of a communication robot, it is needless to say that a well-knowndialogue function that enables a dialogue with the user may be providedand that an expression such as an emotional expression or the like bylanguage may be performed in parallel with the above-describednon-verbal reaction.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating an example of bowing of therobot. As illustrated in the active operation table 244 of FIG. 10, whena bow is performed, the motors 231-1 to 231-3 of the robot 2-1 aredriven such that a head tilt is downward, a head pan is to the front,the right arm is downward, the left arm is downward, a torso tilt is aforward inclination, and a torso pan is to the front. Thus, asillustrated in FIG. 16, the robot 2-1 can be made to perform anoperation easily recognizable as a bow as viewed from the user without acomplex configuration or complex control as in a humanoid robot. Inaddition, the enhancement level that enhances the expression contentscan also be adjusted by using the inclination setting table 246 in FIG.5. In this, case, the robot 2-1 can be made to perform a casual bow, apolite bow, or the like according to, the user, for example, by changingthe inclination of the torso tilt according to the user information.Further, the order of expression by each part of the robot 2-1 can bedetermined according to the user distance by using the expression ordertable 247.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating an example of surprise of therobot. As illustrated in the passive operation table 245 of FIG. 11,when surprise is expressed, the motors 231-1 to 231-3 of the robot 2-1are driven such that a head tilt is upward, a head pan is absent (-),the right arm is upward, the left arm is upward, a torso tilt is bendingbackward, and a torso pan is absent (-). Also in this case, as a degreeof surprise is increased, the inclination of the torso tilt, forexample, may be increased by adjusting the enhancement level thatenhances the expression contents. In addition, it is also possible toexpress surprise by turning on the red LED 233 using the LED expressiontable 601 of FIG. 13, or express surprise by performing audio output ofhigh-pitched sound from the speaker 232 using the sound expression table602 of FIG. 14.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating an example of discouragementof the robot. As illustrated in the passive operation table 245 of FIG.11, when discouragement is expressed, the motors 231-1 to 231-3 of therobot 2-1 are driven such that a head tilt is downward, a head pan isabsent (-), the right arm is forward, the left arm is forward, a torsotilt is a forward inclination, and a torso pan is absent (-). Also inthis case, as a degree of discouragement is increased, the inclinationof the torso tilt, for example, may be increased by adjusting theenhancement level that enhances the expression contents. In addition, itis also possible to express discouragement by turning on, the blue LED233 using the LED expression table 601 of FIG. 13, or expressdiscouragement by performing audio output of low-pitched sound from thespeaker 232 using the sound expression table 602 of FIG. 14.

Thus, the robot 2-1 can perform overaction particularly by the tiltingof the body 201. An emotional expression easily recognized by the usercan therefore be performed by combining the tilting of the body 201 withthe moving up and down of the arms 202L and 202R and the panning andtilting of the head 203.

Incidentally, the robot 2-1 can also perform a guidance expression suchas indicating a vicinity, indicating a distant position, or the like inaddition to emotional expressions. Also in this case, overaction can beperformed particularly by the tilting of the body 201. A guidanceexpression easily recognized by the user can therefore be performed bycombining the tilting of the body 201 with the moving up and down of thearms 202L and 202R and the panning and tilting of the head 203. Thus,interaction with the user can be made smooth. For example, in a case ofa guidance expression indicating a direction, the guidance expressionaccompanying overaction with the body 201 inclined draws attention ofthe user more easily and is recognized more easily than indicating thedirection only by one arm 202L.

In addition, when the robot 2-1 performs a movement that makes animpression on the user at a time of performing an emotional expressionor a guidance expression, it is possible to support provision of servicefrom the robot 2-1. Further, when the robot 2-1 performs overaction, apsychological effect is also obtained such that the user feels morefamiliar with the robot 2-1. For example, even in, a case of a userdistant from the robot 2-1, when the body 201 of the robot 2-1 isinclined toward the user, interaction with affinities is made possiblebetween the user and the robot 2-1 as in a case where a psychologicalexpression in a psychological expression scene is a high affinity in thepsychological behavior table 243 included in the interaction stateestimation table 241 of FIG. 9 in the present example.

FIG. 19 is a functional, block diagram illustrating a second example ofthe functional configuration of the robot. In FIG. 19, the same parts asin FIG. 4 are identified by the same reference signs, and descriptionthereof will be omitted. An expression determining unit 52-2 of a robot2-2 illustrated in FIG. 19 has an interaction state estimating function521-2, an expression accumulating function 522-2, an expressionselecting function 523-2, an enhancement level adjusting function 524-2,and an expression order determining function 525-2.

The interaction state estimating function 521-2 is a function of the CPU221 which function estimates an interaction state between the robot 2-2and the user by using the interaction state estimation table 241, forexample, and determines expression contents according to informationdetected by the face tracking function 511, the contact detectingfunction 513, the user intention detecting function 514, the userpresence detecting function 515, and the environment detecting function517 of the human and environment detecting unit 51. The expressionaccumulating function 522-2 is a function of the CPU 221 which functionaccumulates a plurality of kinds of expression contents expressed by therobot 2-2, and includes expressions such as emotional expressions andthe like by non-verbal reactions including gestures.

The enhancement level adjusting function 524-2 is a function of the CPU221 which function adjusts an enhancement level that enhances theexpression contents determined by the expression selecting function523-2 according to personal information detected by the personalinformation detecting function 512 of the human and environmentdetecting unit 51. For example, in a case where the expression contentsare a bow, the body 201 is adjusted to an inclination corresponding tothe personal information detected by the personal information detectingfunction 512 by referring to the inclination setting table 246 based onthe personal information.

The expression order determining function 525-2 is a function of the CPU221 which function determines order in which to perform the expressioncontents determined by the expression selecting function 523-2 accordingto distance information detected by the distance detecting function 516of the human and environment detecting unit 51. For example, in a casewhere the expression contents are a bow, whether to incline the body 201after bowing the head 203 or whether to bow the head 203 after incliningthe body 201, for example, is determined by referring to the expressionorder table 247 based on a user distance detected by the user intentiondetecting function 514.

The expression selecting function 523-2 is a function of the CPU 221which function determines rough expression contents of the robot 2-2,including inclination angles of the robot 2-2, from the plurality ofkinds of expression contents accumulated by the expression accumulatingfunction 522-2 by referring to the active operation table 244 and thepassive operation table 245 based on the interaction state estimated bythe interaction state estimating function 521-2.

According to each of the foregoing embodiments, expressions such as manykinds of emotional expressions and the like can be performed by gestureswith a low degree of freedom of operation.

Overaction can be performed particularly by the tilting of the body. Anexpression such as an emotional expression or the like that the usereasily recognizes can therefore be performed by combining the tilting ofthe body with the moving up and down of the arms and the panning andtilting of the head.

In addition, the robot has a relatively simple configuration, and cantherefore be reduced in size and cost.

The disclosed robot has been described above based on embodimentsthereof. However, it is needless to say that the present invention isnot limited to the foregoing embodiments, but that various modificationsand improvements can be made within the scope of the present invention.

All examples and conditional language provided herein are intended forthe pedagogical purposes of aiding the reader in understanding theinvention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to further theart, and are not to be construed as limitations to such specificallyrecited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of suchexamples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority andinferiority of the invention. Although one or more embodiments of thepresent invention have been described in detail, it should be understoodthat the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be, madehereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A robot for performing an expression by anon-verbal reaction, the robot comprising: a body including a lower partconfigured to pan and tilt with respect to a support point coupled to aplacement surface; a pair of arms provided to side parts of the bodyconfigured to move up and down; a head provided to an upper part of thebody configured to pan and tilt; and a memory storing information usedto control the non-verbal reaction, wherein the non-verbal reactionincludes a combination of the tilting and the panning of the body withrespect to the support point and movement of the pair of arms or thehead or any combination thereof, and wherein the body pans within arange of movement of 180 degrees and tilts within a range of movement of30 degrees, and the head pans within a range of movement of 300 degreesand tilts within a range of movement of 60 degrees.
 2. The robotaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a light source provided to thehead, wherein the non-verbal reaction is a further combination withturning on or off of the light source.
 3. The robot according to claim2, wherein the light source includes light sources of a plurality ofdifferent colors, and the non-verbal reaction is a further combinationwith turning on or off of the light sources of the plurality ofdifferent colors.
 4. The robot according to claim 1, further comprising:a speaker, wherein the non-verbal reaction is a further combination withaudio output from the speaker.
 5. The robot according to claim 1,further comprising: at least one sensor configured to obtain informationregarding an environment of the robot in order to interact with visitorswithin the environment; the memory further storing information regardingthe visitors within the environment and operational information for therobot; and a Central Processing Unit (CPU) coupled to the at least onesensor and the memory, the CPU being configured to: detect detectioninformation including contact information indicating contact between auser and the robot and an intention of the user; accumulate drivingpatterns of the body, the pair of arms, and the head for performing theexpression; and determine a driving pattern according to the detectioninformation, and control the body, the pair of arms, and the head by thedetermined driving pattern.
 6. The robot according to claim 5, whereinthe CPU is further configured to: estimate an interaction state betweenthe robot and the user according to the detection information; anddetermine expression contents used to control the body, the pair ofarms, and the head by the driving pattern corresponding to thedetermined expression contents.
 7. The robot according to claim 5,wherein the CPU is further configured to adjust an enhancement levelthat enhances the expression based on the determined driving pattern,and controls the body so as to increase inclination of the body withrespect to the placement surface according to the enhancement level. 8.The robot according to claim 5, wherein the CPU is further configured todetermine a determining order in which to perform the expression basedon the determined driving pattern, and control the body, the pair ofarms, and the head in the determined order.
 9. The robot according toclaim 5, wherein the at least one sensor includes a contact sensor or atablet or any combination thereof that detects the contact information,and a microphone or the tablet or any combination thereof that detectsthe intention of the user.
 10. The robot according to claim 9, whereinthe at least one sensor further includes a human sensing sensor, acamera, a distance measuring sensor or a temperature sensor or anycombination thereof.
 11. The robot according to claim 5, furthercomprising: a box-shaped base including the placement surface, whereinthe CPU is disposed within the box-shaped base.
 12. The robot accordingto claim 1, further comprising: a communication control device thatreceives identification information transmitted from a tag.
 13. Therobot according to claim 1 further comprising a transceiver configuredto receive communication including a beacon ID, the beacon ID beingassociated with a visitor and stored in a memory, and wherein themovement of the robot varies based on the received beacon ID.